Re: Logic vs. NIMBY

LIRR commuter rail service along the ROW would not be possible until ESA is completed in 2012 and possibly even later.

LIRR is not the best use for the line anyway. The line would need rapid transit like service to be successful, and the LIRR is a commuter railroad, not a rapid transit provider anymore. The line would be suited for subway service, or Light rail, but not LIRR.
The line was a failure at the end as the LIRR was uninterested in providing rapid transit service, and ithe line was a failure as a commuter railroad. It's time for that past decades earlier. The only usefulness the line would have had for the LIRR was as an airport link, but that's moot now with Airtrain at Jamaica.
The line's usefulness for a Light rail line or subway to an area that has no subway service is invaluable.